Feeling Bummed Out? Watch The Mindy Project

It’s good, we promise

School is back in session! The first day is always fun, but everyone will begin their scrounge through Netflix for their newest distraction from the syllabi come the end of the week. Since we’ll be waiting on Game of Thrones until spring of next year, I figured something a bit more upbeat would satiate us until we can know the fate of Mr. Snow. This show may not be as suspense-filled as Game of Thrones, or as bloody, but at least it’s a laugh.

Since being a university student is the biggest brain drain there ever was, we believe that there’s no better way to defuse and replenish than a wholesome rom-com following the misadventures of a witty doctor and her ridiculous co-workers. The Mindy Project, to be renewed on Hulu because Fox cancelled it on Sept. 15, but currently has three seasons on Netflix Canada, may be one of the better pick-me-ups we’ve found on our favourite streaming website. Mindy Kahling, of The Office, created the show, and it plays like a combination of Scrubs and 30 Rock. The opening credits themselves are funky enough to get caught in your head for the next few days, and the plot is simple enough that you can tune in and out while you work on your course load.

The lighthearted sitcom’s protagonist, Dr. Mindy Lahiri, OBGYN, is someone we can all identify with. Even if she’s finished medical school and is a practicing medical professional, her favourite activities include eating an entire coffee cake by herself, crying about Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks doing anything that doesn’t involve the other, and fantasizing about becoming Tom Hardy’s sex slave (don’t judge us, we’ve all seen Mad Max). The show, in a nutshell, surrounds her and an eclectic cast of doctors and nurses, as well as a string of Mindy’s ex-lovers.

There have also been some pretty admirable cameos in the past three seasons, but we won’t spoil those for you. The show is well-written and the jokes hardly ever miss a beat. Even if the premise (clumsy, ambitious and single woman engages in frenzied antics at her workplace) isn’t exactly original, it’s heartening to see the abundance of comedic shows written by women on Netflix. The dialogue also makes for pretty good banter without being overplayed. It makes you wonder where your own one-line zingers are when you’re shooting the shit. Who knows, but at least The Mindy Project makes you feel like you, too, would snap back at your boss at any given moment and it would be played off as a charming back-and-forth.

Essentially, if you at all miss the simple times of television, before Game of Thrones engulfed everyone’s lives with drama and violence, this show will be a good fix for funnies after you’ve experienced a bad day. The best thing about this show is that, while you’re invested in the characters and each plotline, nothing terribly serious ever happens, and Mindy is able to recreate every relatable moment into something we can laugh at together. Yes, at some points, you are laughing at yourself through Mindy. And isn’t that the core of television?

In short, if you enjoy relatable characters and every kind of awkward social scenario you can imagine, The Mindy Project might just become your new way to unwind during the semester. Remember: gluttony is a sin, but indulging in a fun sitcom after a particularly terrible exam never hurt anyone.